Articles

This the part of the site where we upload, and encourage you to send and share lots of interesting stuff about planning and strategy.

What You Think Is A Function Of The Ideas You Consume

APG

Apr 24, 2018
7 min

What You Think Is A Function Of The Ideas You Consume

Within our industry, Faris Yakob is well known as a high performance cognitive athlete. He is one of the most consistently interesting, stimulating, provocative thinkers around. His work draws an eclectic variety of sources, from evolutionary psychology to poetry to pop culture. He’s also given a lot of thought to what makes a healthy information diet. So I’m delighted he’s agreed to contribute a post to this series – and to answer our Info Diet Q&A. Enjoy! - Ian Leslie, APG

APG

Sep 16, 2016
2 min

Planners Unmasked | Rosanagh & Shaun

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR JOB TO A 7-YEAR-OLD CHILD? (S) On planning? Yikes, still working on the exact definition for when speaking to adults on that one… If I were to describe working in advertising, I’d say: “Big adult playground, where you try and come up with a new and better game than the other guy, every day. Meaning no more early bedtimes…” (R) A privilege. WHAT IS THE SKILL PEOPLE COMING INTO THE INDUSTRY MOST NEED (AND OFTEN DON’T HAVE)? (S) There’s

APG

Sep 6, 2016
3 min

Making plans for Julie

Earlier this week, I saw a Power Point chart that seemed to encapsulate my entire career in one sentence and a picture. I’ve changed the lady’s name to preserve confidentiality, although nothing else about the chart betrays the client, brand or project so I can share this text with you in full. The title of the chart, which may be a Marketing Haiku of sorts, was this: “Julie briefly considered purchasing a different variety but ended up buying her usual product” It was accom

APG

Aug 12, 2016
2 min

Planners Unmasked | Matt Box

WHAT THREE SKILLS SHOULD EVERY GOOD PLANNER POSSESS? - Curiosity: Make the mundane fascinating. - Brevity: Turn the complicated into something concise & clear - Empathy: Put yourself in others shoes WHAT IS THE SKILL PEOPLE COMING INTO THE INDUSTRY MOST NEED (AND OFTEN DON'T HAVE)? The ability to drop the ego and ask the 'stupid questions'. We should all aim to understand our client's problems more, not show off how much we already know. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR CAREER HIGH

Drinking, chatting, fighting, smoking and bags of provocation

APG

Aug 10, 2016
4 min

Drinking, chatting, fighting, smoking and bags of provocation

Well done to all those who entered our terrifyingly hard and devastatingly serious quiz. I know you’re a fearfully competitive bunch so you might like to know that only 7% of entrants got all the answers right. The question that tripped most people up is to be found here, courtesy of Christine Grey: ‘Planning at Thompsons was always regarded as the pinko lefty department. Miles Colebrook used to call it brown bread corner. We went to a seminar once and they served up a kin

APG

Jul 11, 2016
5 min

Breaking into Planning

In 1982, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in his first real box-office hit, Conan the Barbarian. Although the bizarre fight scenes and poor special effects make for hilarious viewing today, at the time this represented a cinematic achievement. His career change from world-champion powerlifter to movie star was one many had said wasn’t possible. In hindsight, his transition from Mr. Olympia to Conan the Barbarian (then Terminator, then Governor of California…) seems like a perfec

APG

Feb 25, 2016
8 min

12 Interview Tips for wannabe Planners

First the bad news: getting into advertising is tough. Getting into Planning is tougher still. Not because it’s rocket science, but simply because the Planning department is smaller than account management or creative department; there are fewer jobs up for grabs. Adding to that, it takes a lot of time, money and affection to train a Planner from scratch – many agencies lack at least one of these three. Instead, they prefer people to first spend a year or two in account manag

All About Planning | The Role, the Origins and the Agency

APG

Jun 30, 2015
3 min

All About Planning | The Role, the Origins and the Agency

Put simply, planners “plan” advertising and communications. At the start of a project they work with the client to decide on the aims of the campaign based on what the client’s business needs to achieve – in terms of sales or consumer behaviour. They then create a strategy designed to meet the client’s business objectives. This often involves more than one type of media – traditional media such as TV and press for example, combined with digital and social media, and an overar

APG

Apr 24, 2015
1 min

Planner at Apple in San Francisco

In June 2014, my wife, son and I moved from London to San Francisco and I started a new job as a planner at Apple. I’d spent 8 years in agencies and had never seriously considered going “client side” but was fascinated by the tech industry, and the opportunity to work at an iconic company like Apple felt different and exciting. I can’t lie - the prospect of living on the sunny West Coast was also very appealing. The move has been tough but rewarding, both personally and p

APG

Jan 16, 2015
3 min

Day in the Life of Nick Hirst

WHAT’S YOUR OFFICIAL JOB TITLE? Planning Partner at Adam&EveDDB HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE TO YOUR MUM WHAT YOU DO? You know the guys that write ads? I tell them vaguely what to write about. HOW WOULD YOU ACTUALLY DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO? I guide creative people in solving problems for brands. (Creative people with all sorts of job titles.) Sometimes I help define those problems. Sometimes I need to work out what specific effects our creative thinking needs to have. Sometimes I just

APG

Jan 4, 2015
10 min

The Future of Brand Building is Triangular

This essay was submitted to, and shortlisted for, the Admap Prize 2014 and is reproduced with the kind permission of warc. This essay is an argument for a new shape. In order to recognize how to now shape a brand in the post-digital world one needs to acknowledge the shape of events around it. I will argue that everything in the communications world should now take on a triangular shape. Brands are no longer built in a bilateral way by building relationships with consumers al

Articles

What You Think Is A Function Of The Ideas You Consume

Planners Unmasked | Rosanagh & Shaun

Making plans for Julie

Planners Unmasked | Matt Box

Drinking, chatting, fighting, smoking and bags of provocation

Breaking into Planning

12 Interview Tips for wannabe Planners

A Review: The Anatomy of Humbug

All About Planning | The Role, the Origins and the Agency

Planner at Apple in San Francisco

Day in the Life of Nick Hirst

The Future of Brand Building is Triangular

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